AAJ: President Obama Has Done His Job, Now Senators Must Do Theirs

Washington, DC— The following is a statement from American Association for Justice President Larry Tawwater on President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court.

“The President has done his job. Now it’s time for Senators to do theirs.

Any vacancy on the Supreme Court impedes the path for those seeking justice. It is unconscionable for Senate Republicans to ignore President Obama’s nominee and leave a vacancy on the Court for potentially more than a year. For too long, Americans seeking to hold corporations accountable have seen the courthouse doors steadily closed to them. Keeping a vacancy open on the nation’s highest court serves only to delay the restoration of Americans’ right to access justice in our civil courts.

The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of consumer, employment, and civil rights cases that daily touch the lives of every American now and for years to come. The Constitution does not relieve the Senate of its duties in election years. We urge the Senate to do its job and consider the president’s nomination.”

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The American Association for Justice works to preserve the constitutional right to trial by jury and to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others—even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. Visit http://www.justice.org.